This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
One type of automotive differential employs a differential housing, a pair of bevel side gears and a plurality of bevel pinions. Some applications employ a single pair of bevel pinions that are meshingly engaged with the bevel side gears and supported for rotation in the differential housing about an axis via a single pinion shaft. Other applications employ three, equally spaced pinions that are supported for rotation in the differential housing about intersecting axes that form a “Y” shape (i.e., each axis forms a 60° angle between each other axis), and are meshingly engaged with the bevel side gears. Other applications employ two pairs of bevel pinions that are supported for rotation relative to the differential housing about two intersecting axes that form a cross shape (i.e., the axes are perpendicular to each other), and are meshingly engaged with the bevel side gears.
While such configurations work well for their intended purposes, the coupling of the pinion shafts relative to the differential housing can be complex and/or costly. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an improved differential having multiple pinion shafts that can be robustly secured relative to the differential housing in an efficient and cost-effective manner.